Every company has something to claim. Whether it is a product or service that you would like to sell, you definitely want to make sure that your brand values are perceived correctly. Therefore, claim testing is no longer only an option; it has rather become obligated in order to promote your products and services effectively. So when you encounter a claim, it is prudent to ask yourself: Why should customers believe and trust in that claim? How do I make sure that they do so?
Before we get down to the answers, let’s turn our attention to some basics first.
What is a claim and what is claims testing?
Well, ”claims” might not be a word that you use every day, but let me tell you: You make claims every day. You’re both surrounded by them and encounter them. Every day. Let me give you an example: If a fashion company tells you its clothes are produced sustainably, they’re making a claim. If a food company promotes its new granola bar to be vegan, made of all-natural ingredients and suitable for a healthy lifestyle, they’re making a claim. Claims aim to effectively communicate why customers should buy your product and what makes your product or brand stand out in a world of tremendously growing competition.
But here’s the question: How can you, as a company, ensure that customers perceive your claims as authentic and believe in them?
Claim testing is the answer. It is a research method that helps you to identify the most convincing claims for your brand or product through a variety. If you use the right tool, you can compare various claims, slogans or even product descriptions at a breakneck speed!
As regards the claim testing tool itself, it is driven by AI and algorithms, offering you deep consumer insights. With increasing competition, it is essential for your company to devise strategic and effective claims that you can be confident will resonate with your target audience. Claim testing is a proven way to achieve this goal.
How does claims testing work?
To use your claim testing tool, you input the claims that you are considering for your company or brand and define the brand values you would like to present. For example, you can perfectly use a claim tester to test which claim is more aligned with your brand value of ”sustainability”. The claims you crafted are analyzed across various target dimensions, in this case, your brand values. The claim testing tool then creates a report within seconds, showing which claims align how well with your target values.
Let me show you another example:
Of the two claims below, which is the better clothing brand slogan?
- Slogan 1: Our clothes are produced 100% sustainable and without chemicals.
- Slogan 2: Clothes made out of the softest material your skin will ever feel.
At first glance, both slogans seem to be suitable claims for a clothing brand. But depending on your specific brand values, there might be a claim that reinforces your company’s intention even better. If your brand values are sustainability, environmental awareness, and cruelty-free production, the first slogan will convey these dimensions better than the second one. But given that our brand value is comfort, for example, you see that the second slogan might be more suitable now.
I think you get my point when I say that your target values are fundamental when testing claims.
A third example can be seen here:
It shows the analysis of a Coca-Cola slogan, which was tested for the dimensions refreshing, happiness, and companionship. Brand values that Coca-Cola has represented for decades now, if you think of other slogans such as ”Enjoy thirst”, ”Good to the last drop”, or ”The best friend thirst ever had; thirst asks nothing more”. The analysis shows that the audience associates the slogan above mostly with ”refreshing”, followed by happiness. Knowing that Coca-Cola can either adjust and optimize its slogan if they aim to provoke other dimensions.
Where does the claim testing tool get its information from?
Here, artificial intelligence and big data play a big role. The tool, or to be more specific, the software, acquires data from publicly open sources. It is collected from sources, which are digitally available, such as websites, videos, search engines, etc. In every country. In every language. I know that’s a lot of data, right? It gives you the opportunity to gain customer insights worldwide, helping you to find the best claims for every customer group.
The best thing about it is that you can save valuable time and marketing resources. The claim testing tools use science, not surveys to reveal your customer’s preferences. Hence, you can be confident that a claim tester makes the right predictions with the help of AI and big data.
At this point, I would like to show you an example created with our neuroflash App:
Imagine, that you are a company selling granola bars. Your goal is to represent a healthy lifestyle and clean nutrition. You would like to now test slogans to find out which one suits your brand values the most.
You can see four slogans for your granola bar above. They were tested for the particular attributes happiness, healthy, and natural. As seen in the chart, the second slogan (”Eat healthier and feel better”) is perceived as the ”healthiest” one by the target audience. The last slogan (”Granola bar. All-natural and 100% vegan ingredients.”) however, is perceived as the most natural one. Natural means: No artificial flavours or added sugar.
You can now choose which slogan you would like to use depending on your brand values. Does your company mainly stand for healthy products, which are suitable for a healthy lifestyle? Or does it focus on being ”all natural” by only using clean ingredients?
You can see that it gives you better insights into your customer’s preferences and expectations.
Why are effective claims important for your company?
The claim testing results can only be as effective as the claims you have created as input. They can either boost the demand for your product or quench the consumer’s interest in your company. So you have to be careful, which words to combine and make sure that you know what message you would like to convey.
If formulated correctly, claims cannot only increase brand awareness but also revenue and customer loyalty if they perceive your company as honest and authentic. It is unquestioned that your company will benefit a lot if your claims perceive your brand values properly. They can be used to match your brand associations with a specific product or service so your customers can identify your company with those particular target values.
Thus, it is really important that your message aligns with the brand values you would like to reinforce. It does not only promote your corporate identity but also increases your authenticity as mentioned before. And authenticity is crucial when doing business.
Conclusion
The aim of claim testing is to ensure that your customers understand your message and that your brand values are perceived correctly by your target audience. They were designed to make your life easier as you do not have to invest valuable time and money finding out which claims your customers respond the most favourably to.
With the help of AI and big data, you can perfectly analyze your claims regarding various dimensions and optimize your marketing performance within a blink of an eye.
What are you waiting for? Start testing your claims today!
Now that you have a better understanding of claim testing, you might want to efficiently test your claims as well. Our software, neuroflash, helps you to gain new insights into your product claim testing as you can test various dimensions. Sign up for your free trial to create business claims within seconds.
Welcome👋 Happy to see you here.
Did you know that AI can help you create content 10x faster? We are Europe`s most popular AI content suite.
